Old Man Wisdom Is Good; God’s Wisdom Is Perfect

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘For those who find me <Wisdom> finds life and receive favor from the Lord.’ (Proverbs 8:35)

As the ‘patriarch’ of the Yeager family, or at least my branch of it, I have been asked to some degree to provide advice on a wide range of family-type issues, fortunately not on anything like child-raising, but home and auto inquiries. 

What to look for in a car, how to deal with a possible home purchase, or what to look for when wanting a home equity loan, or why home and auto insurance jumps up 20% or more even though there are no claims.  (The latter issue is something I wish I knew the answer to; I really think they roll dice or flip poker cards to determine the amount to raise the premiums.)

On the other hand, my children – both in their 30s – have this belief that their mother and father are somewhat naïve to today’s societal issues.  I attempt to share with them my wisdom, and they fail to accept my responses. 

Usually several months later, they admit their attempts to do the opposite failed and that father (or mother) did know best.  Now there are times I’m wrong, but wisdom earned over time usually will be close to the mark.

But the wisdom that trumps any person’s wisdom, including a parent’s wisdom, is God’s Wisdom.  God’s Wisdom is perfect and is never wrong or even ‘almost’ correct, it is always on target.  Proverbs 8 is a proverb on God’s Wisdom; through God’s Wisdom we find the path of Righteousness and Joyful living. 

I again stress that joy and happiness are two different things, but of the two joyfulness is better as it becomes permanent in practice, while happiness is usually temporary and fleeting. 

Tropical storms are a secular example of how God’s Wisdom works.  At one time, say in the 1960s, we only had the hope, and a short period of time, to prepare and ‘weather’ the storms that came upon our shores.  But as we gain knowledge, we are now able through that knowledge to predict with certainty how the storms will act, when they start, where they come from, and where they’ll go. 

This knowledge we’ve gained has increased our wisdom in knowing how to react, how to prepare, and whether we can sit poolside sipping or put our shutters up and hunker down in our closets. 

The same is true in our Walk with our Lord.  We start with Hope, the belief in the Promises God has made through Jesus.  As we grow in our Christian Walk, and as we experience Christ interacting and intervening in our lives, Hope becomes Knowledge. 

As we grow in our Faith, we know that God is with us, and that He answers according to His Word.  With the Knowledge we gain Wisdom; we no longer need to be uncertain on whether we are doing the right thing. 

With God, with Righteousness, we can know that as long as we follow God’s way, we will do the right thing.  It may not always be the way to instant gratification or happiness, but it will bring Joy, the contentment we are doing right by our Lord.  The more we live in Righteousness, we can predict how things will go, and our Knowledge will grow, and so will our Wisdom!